Smoke. Everywhere.
It curled through the streets like a living thing, seeping into cracks, clinging to walls, staining lungs. Chaos had become the norm, a rhythm the city could not shake. Dilapidated buildings leaned on rags and ropes, pathetic attempts by residents to salvage what little remained.
A solitary figure moved through the haze. Hood pulled low, bag of coins clutched tight, Eylin Glitch slipped through the ruins like a shadow.
He turned into a narrow alley and froze.
A line of women stood there, dressed in scraps, twisting their bodies in desperate allure. Their voices rose in a chorus of hunger.
"Oooh, fresh and soft, one loaf a night…"
"Teehee… little brother, tender yet not soft, half a bread…"
"Shut the fuck up, bitch! Who's hitting that for half a loaf?"
"Soft and tender, you say? Lies. We all know it."
Their laughter was brittle, edged with despair. One reached for him, eyes hollow but smile sharp.
"Wait—don't go, little man!"
Eylin bolted, slipping past the elder sister's grasp, heart pounding. He clutched his coins tighter, legs pumping until the voices faded behind him.
"Whew. That was close. Damn… creepy as hell. Half a bread? That one almost got me…" He muttered, dazed, eyes lifting to the sky.
Above, red cracks split the heavens, jagged lines glowing faintly. He stared, mesmerized.
"I once heard some bozo say the sky was blue once. Beautiful. Can't be true. That fucker must've been high as hell."
He pulled out a rolled piece of paper, lit it, and dragged a powerful puff. Smoke rings drifted from his mouth, curling upward.
"Yup. Must've been high. 'Cause I can see blue skies now. Hahaha… strong stuff."
A child tugged at his mother's sleeve, pointing.
"Mom, what's that man smoking?"
The mother's eyes widened. She pulled the child close, whispering harshly.
"Don't look at the glitch. Who knows, he might be contagious."
They hurried away.
Eylin lowered his hood, muttering.
"Glitch, huh… fuck. My hands are itching again."
Blue lines traced his veins, glowing faintly beneath his skin. He scratched furiously, panic rising.
"Please… not now."
He glanced left, right. No one saw. Relief washed over him. He covered his hands and pressed forward, heading toward the library.
Minutes later, he stood before a massive building with cracked walls and sagging doors. A huge figure slumped in a chair outside, snoring loudly.
"Zzzzzzzzzzzzz…"
Eylin grinned.
"YOOOOOOO, OLD GUSS! GUESS WHO'S BACK!"
"BAAANG!" The shout jolted the sleeper awake. His head slammed against the ground. He cursed, clutching his skull.
"Damn! Screw your glitch!"
Eylin chuckled, approaching.
"That's not it, Guss. Your answer should be Slim Shoddy. Or was it Slim Skiddy? Yeah, Slim Shady, bitch. Whatever that means." He laughed, rummaging through his pouch. He pulled out three mana biscuits and handed them to the fuming giant.
"No hard feelings, old Guss. Sleep isn't good in this era. All for you. Anyway, I'm here for the light and heating system. Got anything good?"
"Fuck off," Guss growled.
Eylin raised his hands in surrender.
"Jeez. You should probably look into the words 'no hard feelings.'" He slipped past and entered the library.
Inside, dust ruled.
Books lined shelves, stacked high, sagging under their own weight. The air was thick with age, motes drifting in shafts of light that pierced the cracked roof.
"Books everywhere. Well, what did I expect? It's a library. I know, I know — you imagined flying books and cute elf ladies. Hehehe. No shit. Just a rundown place with zero audience."
He slumped onto a bench, dropping two thick tomes onto the table. Dust exploded upward in a mushroom cloud.
"Cough, cough… damn. Hope I don't catch something in here." He blew his nose, glanced at the cracked walls, then turned to the books.
One was titled IGNIS. The other, LUX for Noobs.
"Noob, huh? Guess I should add FRIZ for foundational knowledge." He fetched another dictionary, stacking it beside the others.
"Well, here goes nothing." He opened IGNIS. His head nearly exploded.
Imagine opening a calculus book for the first time, with a test looming the next morning. That was Eylin now.
"Well, I'll be damned. I really am a noob. Haaah… it's going to be a long night. Guess I gotta start from the basics."
He grabbed another book: Glyphs: The Basics. Notebook and pencil ready, he began.
"A glyph isn't a spell. It's a command line to the universe. Half the time, it listens like a drunk landlord. Sigh… dumb opening line."
He scribbled furiously.
Glyph types are built from:
Core sigil → the concept you're invoking (fire, bind, push, cloak).
Modifier ring → how that concept behaves (spiral, arc, burst, chain).
Anchor → where or how it sticks (ground, air, target body, caster).
He groaned.
"A thousand‑page book, and all I get is a three‑liner. Mages are crazy."
He tossed the book aside, opening LUX.
LUX → The Light Glyph
Core sigil: LUX
Concept: pure light, visibility, brilliance
Default behavior: emits steady or flickering glow
Modifiers: SPIRAL = keeps light stable PULSE = flashes like a strobe VEIL = diffuses light into fog or mist
Anchors: static float, target orb, object point
IGNIS → The Heat Glyph
Core sigil: IGNIS
Concept: heat, thermal conversion
Default behavior: generates intense heat from a point
Modifiers:BLEED = slow outward spreadARC = wide fiery crescentDRILL = focused flame lance
Anchors: object, caster's hand, impact surface
FRIZ → The Cold Glyph
Core sigil: FRIZ
Concept: ice, frostbite, stillness
Modifiers: SPREAD = area freeze POINT = precise target SNAP = brittle burst
Anchors: ground, target, air seed
Eylin leaned back, rubbing his temples.
"Light, heat, cold… all broken down into neat little lines. And yet, every time I try, it glitches. Every damn time."
He stared at the glowing veins in his hands, hidden beneath his sleeves. The itch returned, faint but insistent. He clenched his fists, forcing it down.
"Not tonight," he whispered. "Tonight, I learn."
He bent over his notebook again, scribbling formulas, sketching glyphs, muttering incantations. Dust swirled, lanterns flickered, and the library echoed with the scratching of his pen.
Outside, the city burned. Inside, Eylin Glitch fought to rewrite the rules of a broken world.